Third-Party Candidate Sues Over Ballot Access

April 18, 2024 by Amy Patterson

Justin Tjaden, an Independent candidate for Ohio House District 99, announced plans April 8 to file a lawsuit against the Geauga County Board of Elections to challenge the constitutionality of the state’s ballot access requirements for Independent candidates.

Tjaden originally filed a civil suit asking the court to intervene before the BOE certified signatures he collected to gain access to the November ballot. The suit sought to overturn the requirement for Independent candidates to submit a larger number of nominating signatures than candidates representing the Republican or Democratic parties.

However, Tjaden said April 15 after the BOE certified signatures on April 9, he is working on a new filing.

“I had no intention of making this combative,” Tjaden said. “I believed we’d all be working in good faith to allow the courts ample time to make a ruling on a questionable statute. Now, because of rash decision-making, the Board of Elections has opened themselves to a broader liability. I look forward to allowing the legal process to unfold and will fight for independent candidates across Ohio.”

Tjaden’s original lawsuit names BOE Director Michelle Lane, Deputy Director Nora McGinnis and all four board members — Chair Dennis Pavella, Joan Windnagel, Janet Carson and Richard Piraino — as well as Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose.

Under Ohio law, an Independent candidate must submit nominating signatures equal to 1% of the total electors in the district during the last general election.

“In contrast, candidates affiliated with major political parties . . . are only required to submit 50 signatures to qualify for their respective primary ballots, a disparity that becomes more pronounced in the absence of primary election challengers for either major party candidate,” Tjaden’s lawsuit says.

He was denied a spot on the November 2024 ballot after falling short of the 494 required signatures required, Lane said in an email April 12.

“He submitted 552 (signatures) and 371 were accepted,” Lane said. “This is for both Geauga and Ashtabula (counties).”

In his lawsuit, Tjaden said he was not informed of the signature threshold until the moment he was submitting his petitions on March 18.

“The determination of valid signatures and the board’s intent to certify his failure to qualify for the ballot was communicated to Mr. Tjaden days before the (Geauga BOE) was scheduled to meet on April 9, 2024, (in a) special meeting,” his lawsuit said. “Tjaden contends that the differential treatment of independent candidates regarding signature requirements, especially when neither major party candidate faces primary opponents, coupled with the opaque and inconsistent verification process, violates his constitutional rights and those of the voters who seek to support Independent candidates.”

Geauga BOE Chair Dennis Pavella said staff reviewed Tjaden’s submitted signatures and determined there were not enough valid signatures to qualify for the ballot.

“The Geauga (BOE) met in open session and decided that, due to an insufficient number of valid signatures, the petition would not be accepted as valid according to the Ohio Revised Code,” Pavella said.

Tjaden said due to BOE’s decision to certify signatures April 9 despite his request for a hearing, he will now file with the 11th District Court of Appeals to undo that certification until the broader lawsuit regarding the constitutional questions is decided.

New counts will be levied against all members of the board individually, Tjaden said, under a federal law allowing individuals the right to sue government employees acting “under color of state law” for civil rights violations.

“Their refusal to allow me a hearing is a blatant violation of due process,” Tjaden said.